At Odds With the Heiress (15 page)

Scarlett forced her voice to relax. “I’m sure you have better things to do than that. Has Madison called you?”

“I gave her my number, but haven’t heard from her.”

“If she does call, would you let me know? We’re all worried about her.”

“Sure enough. And give me a call later if you want to get a drink.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got my hands full at the moment.”

“That Wolfe guy?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

“I figured the way he was mooning over you and glaring at me.” He sounded amused. “If he doesn’t treat you like you deserve, let me know. I’ll kick his ass.”

Scarlett grinned. “Thanks, Chase. You’re a pal.” She hung up just as the flight attendant announced that all electronic devices needed to be shut off and stowed. Logan hadn’t called. Anxiety stretched her nerves thin. It was going to be an agonizing hour or so until the plane landed in L.A.

Eleven

A
s he sat behind the wheel of his rental
car glaring at the traffic clogging the 110 Freeway, Logan decided that coming
to L.A. had been an impulsive, rash idea. Nothing that he’d accomplished today
couldn’t have been done from the comfort of his air-conditioned office at Wolfe
Security. Randolph had put him in touch with the private investigator they’d
used the last time they’d tracked Madison down and he’d met with the guy an hour
after touching down in L.A.

Now, he was heading back to LAX. Not to return to Las Vegas,
but to meet Scarlett’s flight. When he’d left her a message last night, he’d
half expected, half hoped she’d jump on a plane and come to L.A. He was damned
glad she was on her way.

It was hard on a stubborn bachelor like him to realize that
Scarlett’s absence hit him physically as well as psychologically. He had an ache
in his gut that hadn’t subsided since she’d hung up on him yesterday afternoon.
She’d only been trying to help and he’d criticized the choices she’d made in her
youth. The same choices that had created the strong, sexy, sometimes vulnerable
woman who gave herself to him completely in bed and kept him guessing the rest
of the time.

In the past twelve hours he’d come to the realization that what
had bloomed between them wasn’t just sexual. His heart ached with emotions too
strong to contain and too new to voice. But he had to try.

Standing near the gate exit, Logan couldn’t ignore the churning
in his stomach. He was anxious to see her. Eager to apologize for taking his
frustration with Madison out on her.

And then she was sauntering in his direction. Accustomed to her
vibrant energy, he wasn’t prepared for how pale and subdued she looked and hated
the worry lines etched between her eyebrows. His heart thundered against his
ribs as she spotted him waiting for her. Before his lips formed a hello, she
held up her hand to forestall whatever he’d been about to say.

“Don’t be mad at me for coming,” she said. “I’m just as worried
about Madison as you are and I know it’s my fault she’s here.”

“I was wrong to blame you. Madison is strong-willed and once
she sets her mind to something, there’s no swaying her.” The need to find his
niece weighed on him, but so did the damage he’d done to his relationship with
Scarlett. “About our last conversation...”

She shook her head, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Not until we
find Madison.” When he began to protest, she cut him off. “Promise me. We need
to keep the focus on her.”

“Fine,” he told her, cupping her face and staring into her
beautiful eyes. “But I’m not happy about it.”

“I didn’t expect you to be.” The throb in her voice gave away
more than her expression. She was wary of him in a way she’d never been
before.

The end to their last conversation sprang to mind and his joy
in her arrival dimmed. Why did he feel as if she was only here to tie up the
loose ends of their relationship so she could have a clean break with him?

Logan relieved her of the overnight bag she carried and took
her free hand, gratified that she didn’t try to pull away. “The car’s parked
this way.”

“Have you had any luck locating Madison?”

“No. I’ve called the boy she followed out here last spring and
made contact with the private detective my brother-in-law hired once before, but
no luck.”

“You should never have let me near her,” Scarlett said. “If
she’d worked with either Violet or Harper she never would’ve met Bobby and been
encouraged to pursue acting.”

“Maybe.” Logan drew her into the warm Los Angeles evening. “Or
maybe she was playing all of us this summer and never intended to go to college
in the fall.”

“But she said...” Scarlett trailed off and frowned. “If you’re
right, she’s a better actress than I ever was.”

“I know that’s not true.”

Scarlett laughed. “You’ve never seen me act.”

“I’ve seen everything you’ve ever done.”

“That’s impossible.”

He felt the weight of her disbelief as he unlocked the doors on
his rental car and ushered her inside. Before he closed the door, he took ahold
of her gaze. “What can I say? I’m a fan.”

Shutting the door on her stunned expression offered him a
moment of amusement. She had shifted sideways on the seat and was poised to get
answers as soon as he slid behind the wheel.

“Since when?” she demanded as he started the car.

“I think I saw you for the first time when you starred on
That’s Our Hilary
.”

“Don’t tell me you watched that.”

“Not me. My sister, Paula. Her, Lucas and I used to fight over
who got to watch what. We outnumbered her, but she was older by a year and
always got first choice. I really learned to hate that show.” He flashed her a
wicked grin. “Lucas thought you were hot.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you were a fan.”

“You were really amazing in
Sometimes
Forever.
”

“Do you really expect me to believe that you watched that show?
It really isn’t your thing.” Her self-assurance began to slip a little, exposing
her quieter, fragile core. “And there weren’t more than eight episodes. It never
even made it to DVD.”

“When you first came to Las Vegas, as much as we rubbed each
other the wrong way, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I found and watched
everything you’d done because I had you pegged as just some woman who read lines
someone else had written.” He took her hand in his and lifted her fingers to his
lips. “It really bugged me that not only were you beautiful and fascinating in
whatever role you played, you also brought great depth to your characters.”

“But ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been nothing but
critical of my career.” Her green eyes went soft with confused hurt. “Why, when
you felt like that?”

Admitting that he was wrong was like swallowing foul-tasting
medicine. He knew it was good for him, but hated the punishment on his senses.
“Because I might be able to step outside the box and see all the possibilities
in a computer program or security system, but when it comes to people, I take a
narrow view.”

She cocked her head. “Is that your way of telling me you’re
sorry for being such a judgmental ass?”

“Sorry?” He winced dramatically and watched her outrage grow.
“I’m not sure I’d go that far.” When her lips popped open to chastise him, he
cupped her cheek in his palm and leaned closer so she couldn’t miss the
sincerity in his gaze. “You make me want to be a better man.”

“I think you’re pretty terrific already.”

“You must be in love with me,” he declared, kissing her on the
nose.

“Why would you say that?” She tried for a light tone, but it
came out sounding a little too anxious.

“Because only a woman in love would think I’m terrific after I
took my anxiety and exasperation out on her earlier.”

“Oh, that.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m just used to
your bad-tempered ways.”

She took his hand. The feel of her fingers meshed with his
lowered his blood pressure and calmed the agitation he’d been feeling since
she’d hung up on him yesterday.

She, too, looked more at ease as they exited the parking ramp.
Silence reigned as he got them onto the freeway and heading north.

“I’m all out of ideas where we should look for Madison next,”
he said, prodding her out of her thoughts.

“I called Chase before the plane left Las Vegas, but he hadn’t
heard from her.”

“I can’t believe she’d call him.”

“Why not?” Scarlett smiled. “Chase might be a mega star, but
he’s also a great guy. He’s never forgotten the help he had on the way up and
donates a ton of his time to charities. He likes to give back. And he really hit
it off with Madison.”

“He seems to hit it off with you, as well.” Logan made no
attempt to conceal his irritation.

“We’ve worked together.”

“It seemed more familiar than I would expect between two
colleagues.”

“We might have dated briefly.”

That piece of information didn’t surprise Logan, but it made
his heart feel like a cumbersome weight in his chest. “Was it serious?”

Scarlett stared out the side window. “We were young.” Her phone
began to ring before Logan could press further. “It’s Madison.”

Logan saw his niece’s smiling face on Scarlett’s phone screen.
Relief rushed through him.

Scarlett keyed the speaker. “Madison, oh, thank heavens. I left
you three messages. Are you all right?”

“Fine. I forgot my charger when I packed for L.A. and my phone
died. I finally got around to buying a new one.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Logan’s here with me. We’ve been
frantic. Why didn’t you tell us you were headed to L.A.?”

“I left a note for Logan.”

“I wish you’d talked with me instead,” Logan said.

“You don’t talk,” Madison complained. “You command.”

“I can’t argue with you there.” Scarlett spared Logan a brief
glance and saw his lips tighten. “But didn’t you think you could tell me what
was going on?”

“I should have, but I was so mad at Uncle Logan and you two are
so tight these days....”

But not so tight anymore. The thought tempered her joy in
finding out Madison was okay.

“Besides, I wanted to surprise you once everything was
finalized,” the teenager continued.

“Once what was finalized?” Logan asked.

“I’m going to attend UCLA in the fall.”

“UCLA?” Scarlett silently demanded answers from Logan, but he
shook his head. “That’s wonderful. How come you didn’t mention that you’d been
accepted there?”

“Because I didn’t know. I never got an acceptance letter and
assumed that they’d rejected me.”

“But they didn’t?”

“No. Turns out my parents intercepted the letter and didn’t
tell me I’d gotten in. It was my top choice because it’s in L.A. and they’ve got
a fantastic school of theater, film and television. I was devastated when the
letters went out last March and I didn’t get one.”

Is that what had accounted for her running off to L.A. last
spring? Scarlet exchanged a glance with Logan. “So how did you find out you were
accepted?”

“They also posted the acceptances online. I was so bummed about
the letter, I completely forgot that I could find out from their website until I
was clearing out old emails yesterday and found the ID and password.”

“I’m thrilled for you,” Scarlett said, giddy with relief and
delight. “So you came to L.A. to...?”

“Tour the campus and check out the dorms.”

“Of course.” Weak with relief, she grinned at Logan. “Where are
you? We’ll come pick you up and take you out for a celebratory dinner.”

“You’re in L.A.?”

“Logan and I came here looking for you.”

“You really were worried.” Madison sounded as if she finally
realized the impact of what she’d done. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do dinner. I
already have plans with some of the people I met last time I was out here.”

“Where are you staying?”

“With them. They’re going to drop me off at the terminal after
breakfast tomorrow so I can catch the bus back to Las Vegas.”

“We could come get you. Fly you back to Las Vegas with us.”

“Why don’t you and Logan hang out in L.A. for a few days? I’ll
be fine.”

And Scarlett knew she would be. “We’ll catch up tomorrow and
let you know our plans. Have fun.” She didn’t bother to add “be safe.”

After disconnecting the call, Scarlett said, “I’m guessing her
parents are not going to be happy she got into UCLA.”

“To hell with them,” Logan growled. “They’re getting what they
want. She’s going to college. The least they can do is let her attend the school
of her choice.”

Nothing could have demonstrated what a tough month it had been
for Logan better than those words. Scarlett kissed her fingertips and pressed
them against his cheek.

“You’re going to make a fabulous father someday,” she declared,
grinning broadly. “As much as you grumble and complain about her, you’ve been
behind her all along. She might not tell you so, but I know she appreciates that
you haven’t dictated to her like her parents did and that you were willing to
support her choice of whatever college she went to. She’s lucky to have
you.”

“Thanks.” Logan captured her hand and pressed a sizzling kiss
into her palm. “Now that we’ve accomplished our mission, where should go to
celebrate?”

“Why don’t we head up to Malibu? I have a house on the
beach.”

“You keep a house here?”

“It was the first thing I bought when I turned eighteen. I know
it doesn’t make sense to keep a three-million-dollar piece of property sitting
around empty, but I love it too much to sell.”

If he’d found out about this a week ago he would have been
utterly convinced that Scarlett perceived her stay in Vegas as a temporary one,
but he was coming to accept that L.A. would always be a part of who she was.

“I can understand that. I have a place in Aspen that I don’t
get to often enough anymore, but I can’t bear the thought of giving up the
skiing.”

“Oh, hot tubbing after a day on the slopes. Sounds
heavenly.”

“We’ll have to go there this winter.”

“I’d like that,” she began, her voice sounding peculiar.
“But...”

He shot her a glance and was surprised at how concerned she
looked. “Time to talk?”

She directed him onto Interstate 10 before answering, “Let’s
wait until we get to my house.”

* * *

Little more passed between them until they reached the
Pacific Coast Highway. Scarlett could tell Logan had a lot on his mind, but for
once she wasn’t interested in knowing what it was. As they drew closer to her
house, she warned him so he wouldn’t miss her driveway.

“I hope you like it,” she said, unlocking the front door and
leading the way into a spacious white living room with tiled floors, a
turquoise-blue couch and panoramic views of the Pacific. “I called ahead and had
the property management company stock the fridge. I thought we could have dinner
and take a walk on the beach.”